William L
“Bill” Evans was born in Quanah, Texas on March 25, 1919. He began his professional
career with Cheyenne of the Western League in 1941 and was 10-13
with a 4.71 earned run average. The 6-foot-2 right-hander played
for Burlington of the Bi-State League
in 1942 and was 8-6 with a 3.65 ERA. He entered military
service on September
28, 1942.

In 1944,
Evans was with the 76th Infantry Division’s combat
training facility at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, where he played baseball
with the 76th Infantry Division Onaways. Teammates
includes Bama Rowell and Cecil Travis. The 76th Infantry
Division captured the Wisconsin State semi-pro championship in 1944.

He was sent overseas at the end of 1944, arriving in Southampton,
England, and saw combat in France and Germany in 1945. Evans was
awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star. After the war's end he had
time to play baseball. "Bill played lots of baseball in Germany,"
Evans' widow, Melba, explains. "He was based in Hof, Germany but
played in Nuremberg for the 3rd Army. His team also played in
France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Czechoslovakia.” Evans teammates in
Europe included Clarence Maddern, Ken Trinkle and Bama Rowell.

Evans
returned in 1946 and reported to Burlington in the Tri-State League.
He was sent to Amarillo in the West Texas-New Mexico League where he
struck out 18 in the season opener against the Borger Gassers and
posted a 26-7 won-loss record for the year. He was 17-12 at Muskegon
in 1947. In 1949, Evans made his major league debut, pitching for
games for the Chicago White Sox. Evans returned to the majors in
1951 to make nine relief appearances for the Boston Red Sox.

Bill Evans
passed away on November 30, 1983, in Grand Junction, Colorado. He
was 64 years old.

Thanks to
Bill Evans’ widow, Melba Evans, for help with this biography.